Rice 



43 



CLEANING RICE AT MANILA 



with rice and help to compensate for its 

 •deficiencies. In the East, curry and rice 

 is a national dish ; the rice is the prin- 

 cipal item in the bill of fare, the curry 

 being little more than a flavouring material 

 added to make the dish more tasty. Small 

 quantities of meat, dried fish, etc., are 

 cooked, together with a sauce containing 

 turmeric, capsicums, or peppers, and 

 various other ingredients, and eaten with 

 the rice. The relative proportion of the 

 two constituents is frequently reversed in 

 the East and in England. In India, for 

 example, a small quantity of the curry 

 serves to render palatable a large amount 

 •of rice, whilst here we rather add a small 

 portion of rice to the curried meat which 

 we regard as the staple of the dish. 

 Endless varieties of curries are made in 

 India, and those of Ceylon are also excep- 

 tionally good, as the fresh milk of young 

 cocoanuts is frequently employed in their 

 composition to a considerable extent. The 

 West African negro, both in his native 



would be just as sensible to place a price on 

 shoes according to the polish they will take." 

 Uses of Rice. The principal use of rice is, 

 of course, as a food, and, as already noted, 

 it forms the staple diet of about half the 

 population of the world. Rice, in its natural 

 unpolished condition, is one of the best of 

 the cereals, better even perhaps than wheat, 

 because it does not contain the large quan- 

 tities of gluten which, although of great use 

 in allowing bread to be made from wheat, 

 is of comparatively little value as a food- 

 stuff, since the human body appears unable 

 to utilise gluten to advantage. Proof of the 

 high nutritive value of rice was afforded 

 during the Russo-Japanese War, in which 

 rice formed a very important part of the diet 

 of the Japanese soldier. Great care was 

 taken to serve the rice properly, and in- 

 teresting accounts are on record of " rice 

 balls " being distributed to the men during 

 the heat of an engagement. Peas and beans 

 grow readily throughout the tropics and are 

 commonly used in conjunction with rice ; 

 they are, of course, rich in proteids^ although 

 not in the form most readily digested by 

 man. They are, however, extensively used 



CHILDREN POUNDING RICE IN INDIA 



